The invention refers to a motor vehicle seat. This seat comprises a seat frame, a seating surface provided on the seat frame, and a seat back pivotally mounted to the seat frame which can be tilted in the direction of the seat surface of the seat frame in the released position of a seat back fixing device from its position of use (corresponding to the seat back tilted up) in order to trigger a so-called easy-entry function.
Such seats are used as front seats in motor vehicles whereby the forward tilting of the seat back facilitates the entry of a passenger or the sliding in of an object into the back of the motor vehicle. Entering the vehicle is also made easier, which is of significance in two-door vehicles, in that the seat can be moved forward after tilting the seat back forward. For this, a motor vehicle seat known from WO 00/55002 (see corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,952) comprises the following:
a seat frame;
a seating surface provided on the seat frame;
a seat back that is pivotally mounted on the seat frame and which can be tilted in the direction of the seating surface;
a longitudinal guide by which the seat frame is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the seat for the adjustment of the longitudinal seat position,
a fixing device for fixing the seat frame in a previously set longitudinal seat position;
an actuation element for the releasing of the fixing device such that the seat frame is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the seat;
a coupling mechanism for the coupling of the fixing device with the seat back that acts on the actuation element thus unlocking the fixing device when the seat back is tilted forward in direction of the seat surface;
a memory device by which the seat frame can be stopped in a movement in the longitudinal seat direction at a defined longitudinal seat position, whereby a stop moveable in the longitudinal seat direction engages a counterstop of the memory device;
an adjustment device of the memory device by which the memory position is adjustable by displacing the position of the counterstop in the longitudinal seat direction;
a locking device of the memory device for the locking of a preset memory position; and
switching means with which the locking device can be unlocked in order to set the memory position.
Such a seat provides the possibility to move the seat frame after forward tilting of the seat back in the direction of the seat surface, and thus the entire seat of the vehicle, to the front in order to facilitate the entry of a passenger into the rear of the car (easy-entry function). At the same time, the seat subsequently can be moved very simply back into its original longitudinal seat position if this longitudinal seat position is stored as a memory position in the memory device provided for this. In this case, when the seat is being moved backward, the seat frame is automatically stopped in the memory position, whereby a stop corresponding to the seat frame works in conjunction with a counterstop of the memory device.
In the motor vehicle seat known from WO 00/55002 (see corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,952), it is furthermore provided that the coupling mechanism that acts on the actuation element of the fixing device and releases it when the seat back is tilted forward in the direction of the seat surface acts on the actuation element only so long as the seat back is tilted forward. By locking the fixing device, the seat frame thus is blockable at any time when the seat back is no longer tilted forward, i.e., has been tilted back again into its use position. This means, in particular, that with the seat back tilted up, the blockability of the seat frame in a current longitudinal seat position is independent from whether the respective longitudinal seat position corresponds to the memory position or not.
The seat frame is defined here as all parts of the supporting seat construction moveable in the longitudinal direction of the seat, i.e., in particular, including those parts of the longitudinal seat guide, such as a seat rail (upper rail), that are moved in the longitudinal direction in an adjustment of the longitudinal seat position.